I'm not citing a riot act... I'm trying to pull in scientific information as well as the current top of the differential diagnoses list. Not know up or down would create "dizzy" in a mammal at least. Would it create disorientation in a snake? Probably. We tend to call this disorientation "dizzy" and if you move slowly it isn't as aggravated. Do vestibular problems manifest with movement difficulties? Absolutely. If the issue is centered around CNVIII, a recessive trait (demyelination? atrophy? other physiologic abnormalities?) could indeed affect the snake in a fashion after what we see.
To provide more of Connie's information:
"BACKGROUND INFO
The word "stargazing" itself is a general term that indicates a neurologic problem in animals in which the animal has a tendency to hold the head back, "gazing at the stars". This symptom indicates dorsoflexion (head thrown back) and fixed staring up at rest. This symptom across the animal kingdom can be seen for a variety of reasons including neurologic conditions as well as anatomic abnormalities or pain. Causes of neurologic abnormalities leading to stargazing are varied, including:
* Toxin Exposure (no pest strips and insecticides most common with snakes)
* Heat or Cold Stress
* Viral Disease (Boids with inclusion body disease (IBD) - retroviral cause)
(link to more info:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in.../bc/171413.htm)
* Bacterial Disease (bacterial meningitis, etc.)
* Trauma (crushing while closing the cage, falling cage furniture, etc.)
* Congenital abnormalities (hydrocephalus, kinked neck, others)
* Tumor of the skull/brain
* Respiratory Disease in Snakes - will often sit with head held in abnormal positions when struggling against an URI
* Heritable Disease in the Corn Snake - unknown mechanism at this time
When discussing what we think of as THE stargazing in corns, what we are referring to is a heritable condition that
actually appears to be an abnormal vestibular system (balance system) leading to animals that have difficulty knowing which way is up, especially when they lose visual landmarks (like when picked up) or when they are excited.
Perhaps more appropriately termed "Heritable Vestibular Syndrome in the Corn Snake", stargazing in this sense refers to a very specific condition we have been researching for the past several years.
CLINICAL SIGNS
* Condition present at hatch
* Condition does not worsen over time (may appear to improve as the snake learns to adapt with age)
* More noticeable when the snake is agitated/excited
* Appear normal at rest (though may assume bizarre positions at times)
* Will weave the head back and forth, sometimes rolling the head back or to the side
* When fleeing, may crawl upside down or flip between back to stomach
* Often will sit with head raised up or flipped over backwards
* Hugs the hand tight, crawling backwards to stabilize itself when unbalanced/picked up
* Unpredicatable crawling, especially when agitated, uncoordinated
* Eats, Drinks, Sheds, Grows, Breeds, Lays Eggs Normally (other than the above mentioned signs)
* Has never been shown to be contagious, even with co-habbed snakes or siblings
* Other than imbalance, does not impact the quality of the snake's life, does not affect cognitive ability, and the snakes display the same emotions as normal snakes with no sign of added stress due to the condition (i.e. they don't appear to suffer from the condition)
What we have tested so far:
* A full pathologic evaluation was done on a sacrificed hatchling stargazing corn snake to determine if there is an anatomic cause for the condition or any signs of viral disease (inclusion bodies in cells typical of viral infection). The histopathologic results were detailed and normal. No cause for the condition was seen at a microscopic level.
Tests recommended to be completed in the future
* Full blood screen to rule out certain metabolic causes.
* Histopathologic analysis on an adult stargazer to give the pathologist a larger specimen to examine to see if subtle anatomic defects are present that weren't seen in the hatchling.
* A CSF analysis would be helpful, though technically challenging to collect.
The above 3 things could be performed on a single adult animal that was humanely euthanized. We have plans for this in the future with an adult gazer at some point.
"
If you would like, I could even show the videos of gazer hatchlings/adults to my local reptile vet and see what he says.
